GALLERY: TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz Chronograph

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Monaco Review by Bruce Williams

FEATURE: What About a Proper Ayrton Senna Tribute Watch?

A while back I wrote a post about the numerous and varied selection of 'Senna' watches that TAG Heuer have put out over the years, but unfortunately nearly all of them have one massive flaw; Ayrton never wore a Carrera, a Link or even a Formula 1. He famously wore a two-tone S/EL on a brown leather strap, and later (briefly, and much less famously) a white dial, two-tone 6000 on a black leather strap. Furthermore, while the 6000 Series was a chronometer certified automatic, the S/EL was a quartz (with a partial digital display). So really, when you think about it the 'authenticity' of the Senna watches is pretty low.

I'm sure there's many a Senna fan who, rather than one of the recent offerings - as nice as many of them are, would love to get their hands on something similar to the genuine article. If you think about it the marketing opportunity would be huge, but on closer inspection there are a myriad of problems to overcome to make this a reality.

S25.706C

Firstly and most obviously, the S/EL is no longer in production. It was dropped, or rather 'evolved' into the 'Link' series in the late 1990s, and while the original 'Link' might have provided a reasonable base for a 're-imagined' Senna S/EL, the current model certainly does not. As nice as it would be to imagine it, I can't see the costs of bringing back the original case just for one high end model being justified.

So okay, that's not going to fly, lets use a Formula 1 case instead (as seen recently with the new 'Fragement Heuer 02' limited edition). After all, there have already been 'Senna' F1s fitted with the Link bracelet and they looked fantastic, so it's an easy and cost effective answer. Good, let's go with that.

So we need a cream dial (I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to make a dial reminiscent of the original S25.706C with rounded baton markers etc), we need 'Mercedes' hands (not a big deal I shouldn't have thought) a two tone Link bracelet and a gold serrated bezel... or we need to use a regular gold Formula 1 bezel. For the sake of argument, let's assume making an S/EL style bezel to fit the Formula 1 is a possibility and we end up with something like...

Obviously it would also have a gold crown, I did try and colour the crown gold but it looked terrible so I left it as it was... and speaking of the crown, I can't see it being a massive problem to produce a more S/EL shaped crown, since this one looks all kind of wrong to me. But that aside, not too bad so far - right?

So what about the movement then? Obviously as a high end collectible the most obvious engine would be the in-house Heuer 02. It has broadly the same layout of subdials, albeit in a slightly different place, but wait - one of the most identifiable parts of the 'Senna' watch is that it has an ani-digi display. I'm no watchmaker but I seriously doubt there's any way for TAG Heuer to attach a digital display to an automatic watch and make it run in sync. Mechanical movements simply don't operate to the same tolerances that quartz ones do, and while no doubt someone like Urwerk could pull it off, no doubt it would make the watch outrageously expensive (and by expensive I mean you could buy a massive house with it).

The Urwerk Atomic Clock and Paired Watch ($2.7m)

So then, why not ditch the Heuer02 and just go back to the original movement? I know there is at least one person on the Calibre11 forum who has had this kind of movement replaced in their original 2000 Series watch, so presumably they are still available? Maybe, maybe not... maybe there's only a limited number of them, but even if there's thousands of them sitting in boxes just waiting to be put into a watch there is still another (small) problem.

The original watch was 40mm in diameter (according to an eBay listing I've just found) but the Link bracelet F1 models are 43mm. This means the ani/digi sections of the dial would move further away from the edge of the case as they are fixed in place as part of the movement. The subdials would also move in, but that wouldn't be quite as bad as you could simply make the subdials larger to compensate and fit longer hands. Larger, longer hour, minute and chronograph hands would be easy enough I would have thought and so we are nearly there... well, assuming of course that the pushers on the current F1 case can be made to work with the old movement and that TAG Heuer could add two more pushers on the left hand side to work the digital screens (probably not, but hey...).

But most of the time Ayrton did not wear his watch on a bracelet, he wore it on a brown leather strap. Simple then, dump the bracelet and fit an off the shelf brown strap. Hmm, sorry but no. Because the original S/EL had an unusual shaped case, leather strap versions had the first link of a bracelet and then the strap was cut to fit around that (later on TAG made a more strap friendly version of the case, but I've never liked it) and I think to abandon that completely in favour of a basic brown leather strap would be a step too far.

When you actually look at Ayrton's watch, as cool as it is and as iconic as it is, it's anathema to everything that's saleable in a current watch. It's two tone for a start, which makes it expensive, it's on a brown leather strap (but needs a bespoke strap to fit with the one link bracelet), it's quartz AND ani-digi... and how would TAG Heuer price this model? Back in 1995 Ayrton's watch cost £1150, but I couldn't really see this project brought in under £3000 and TAG Heuer might even argue that that would be woefully under priced. And therein lies the real problem. It's one thing to charge big money for a like-for-like, pukka S/EL reissue, even one which was perhaps upsized to modern dimensions, but for something that is compromised here there and everywhere... well, perhaps not!

So realistically, your best bet is probably to hunt out an original, and perhaps send it back to TAG Heuer for a refurbishment if necessary... it will almost certainly still be cheaper than a re-issue would be and you'll be wearing the actual watch that Ayrton did rather than a well-intentioned but ultimately flawed homage.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 36 Chronograph Review by WatchBox Studios

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Heuer Carrera 'Montreal' 160th Anniversary Heuer 02 Chronograph

CBK221C.FC6488

The Heuer Montreal is a long standing fan favourite and one a lot of people would like to see revived a la the Monza 40th Anniversary. The only problem is it came in a rather 'particular' case that is no longer in the range and I'm guessing it would cost quite a lot of money to resurrect it solely for one watch, so what to do? Well... as the saying goes 'if in doubt make a Carrera', and so here we have the 'Heuer Carrera Montreal'.

From the moment I clapped eyes on this one I knew it would divide opinion; not only is it going to be too colourful for some people, but some of the people who the watch is actually genuinely 'aimed' at aren't going to like it either because it isn't a proper 're-issue'. With this in mind I was actually expecting a lot more complaining on the Calibre 11 forum on release day than there actually was. I mean, there was complaining (there always is; it's too thick, it's too big, I wanted it with a panda dial in 36mm...), but only one person really commented on the fact that this was one watch's dial transplanted into another completely different watch... still, maybe that means we can have that long awaited 'Dark Lord' Carrera for the 170th Anniversary, eh?  ;)

I jest of course, as this was always the closest we were ever likely to get to a genuine 're-issue' of the legendary Heuer Montreal. And yet, nowhere on the watch does it actually say 'Montreal'. It says it on the website and the marketing materials, but not on the watch itself. I think that's a shame, it could have been subtly positioned in the running seconds register instead of the text 'Swiss' or they could have put it on the backplate 'Montreal Limited Edition' instead of just 'Limited Edition'. But then again I guess everyone knows what it's supposed to be so it doesn't really matter all that much... although saying that I've already seen two people complaining about it so maybe it does!

You might think the CBK221C is garishly colourful, but looking back at the watch that inspired it, it actually looks almost like a bit of a cop-out. It's certainly incredibly 'blue' and there's still plenty of yellow on the new version, but the red has been scaled right back. You will also be forgiven for thinking that the red/blue tachymetre/pulsometer text around the dial has been left off, it has actually... but there is a very small minute track which echoes that colour scheme (I couldn't see it either, until someone pointed it out to me so you're not alone!).

I'm not quite sure why they left the date off and added in the running seconds subdial, again they could easily have gone the 'Heuer 02 Monaco' route and had a ghost subdial and the date, it would certainly have kept the design more true to the original... at least they changed those blocky subdial hands, although again apparently some people prefer them (the esteemed Mr David Chalmers for one!).

The case is an 'afficionado' pleasing 39mm, but matched with a 14.7mm thickness, which will undoubtedly make this feel a tad chunky on the wrist and predictably that was something that people on the Calibre 11 forum were complaining about.

As for accessibility, well the watch is limited to 1000 pieces as opposed to the 1860pcs of other anniversary models such as the 2010 'Silverstone' re-issue and the previously announced 'silver dial' 160th anniversary Carrera.

I think this was perhaps a wise move, as I can't quite decide if this will fly off the shelves or sit stubbornly in the shadow of the much more conservative and undeniably elegant CBK221B. Either way though I can see this one holding value well and becoming a collectible model in years to come. Personally I don't think either model is really for me, the silver dial is too conservative and this one isn't as daring as it could have been, for instance I think it's a shame they toned down the hands - but to be fair those red hands would have made this even more divisive than it already is so I can see why they didn't go that far.

Still I congratulate the TAG Heuer team for pushing it as far as they did, especially in a 'classic' Carrera case; as someone on the Calibre 11 forum ruefully pointed out 'perhaps these colours would be better on a F1'. At least they didn't just play it ultra-safe and give us another standard Panda dial. I know it's basically what people want, but it would have been a bit underwhelming. I'm slightly confused at the toning down of the red though, because red on white is the main colour of the Montreal flag, and ideally I would have liked to have seen a solid caseback with a beaver chewing a pine tree on it. But maybe that's just me being silly... :)

The Carrera 160th Anniversary 'Montreal' comes on a blue alligator strap, costs £5550, has 100M of water resistance and is available to order on the TAG Heuer website now.
https://www.tagheuer.com/gb/en/timepieces/collections/tag-heuer-carrera/39-mm-calibre-heuer02/CBK221C.FC6488.html

VIDEO: Gifting an Awesome TAG Heuer Formula 1 Indy 500 by Wrist Watch Addiction

SPOTLIGHT ON: Heuer Mikrograph 1/100th of a Second Chronograph

CAR5040.FC8177

Launched in 2011, the 'Mikrograph' (is anyone else confused by the Mikrograph / Micrograph / Multigraph / Microtimer naming conundrum?) featured an 'in-house' development of the Calibre 360 movement first used in the TAG Heuer Vanquish (one of the rarest TAG Heuers in existence - just eleven were made) and was limited to 150 pieces in total. 

While it's a beautiful thing to behold, the CAR5040 Mikrograph has a 43mm solid rose-gold case and a split white and dark brown dial, it was also frighteningly expensive with an original list price of $50,000 - quite a sum of money for a brand who tend to chiefly inhabit the £1000-£6000 price bracket.

But this was nearly ten years ago, when Jean Christophe Babin was still in control of the company and he felt the way to make the company's more affordable products more desirable was to develop so called 'halo' high-end products which supposedly push the value of the whole range up.

I don't really think that concept worked to be honest, though as a watch enthusiast it's a shame because I'd personally love to see a return to the days of high end innovation and models such as the aforementioned Vanquish and Monaco V4. But to my mind that idea only really works if you make your 'halo' model very visible. For example, the Audi R8 fulfills that role perfectly, I'm not sure that the majority of potential TAG Heuer customers who wanted to put down £1000 on an entry level Formula 1 would know a Mikrograph if it slapped them in the face.

The Heuer Mikrograph in the TAG Heuer factory at La Chaux de Fonds

I suppose the theory is that watch enthusiasts would read about it in the specialist press and it would inform their opinions about the brand and that should have trickled down to the mainstream, but it clearly didn't work as until Mr Biver stepped in a few years ago and launched the new Carrera and Connected models, TAG Heuer's overall reputation was pretty weak.  

Still it wasn't for want of trying; the CAR5040 features an integrated chronograph and has two balance wheels to facilitate the main movement running at a different frequency to the main complication. This means that while the chrono operates at 360,000vph giving that all important 1/100th second accuracy, the 'time telling' part of the movement operates at a slightly less energy sapping rate of 28,800vph. In turn this gives the chronograph a run time of just 90 minutes, while the main movement has a power reserve of 42hrs.

From an aesthetic point of view I think the colour combination works really well and though an unusual choice I think that bright blue chrono second hand looks absolutely fantastic. The Mikrograph is quite unusual in that its dial is marked out to make the most of its 1/100th of a second accuracy, with no regular hour batons or Arabic numerals in sight. That gives this watch a unique and purposeful look more akin to a stopwatch than a regular timepiece. But I can't really see anyone who buys this missing the hour markers, we all know where they should go after all!

The great thing about this superb watch though, from a pre-owned purchaser's point of view at least, is that it can be had today for a considerable saving over it's original list price. This post has been kicking around in my file for a very, very long time, but when I started this one Watchfinder (hardly a company known for its bargain prices) had one of these for sale for about £21,000. That one has gone now but there is a 'new' one on Chrono 24 going for £18,338... other than that it's slim pickings, with the only other options the regular bullsh*tters like Jura watches (£41,500) who claim delivery in 3-10 days but will probably ultimately tell you it's no longer available

One thing to bear in mind though, the movement in this watch was handmade and it will definitely have to go back to TAG Heuer in Switzerland for servicing - I can't imagine that being cheap, so like your bargain four seater Ferrari 400i (if those are still bargains?) it's probably worth bearing that in mind before committing to buy one...

Further reading: Check out David's hands-on review at Calibre 11
https://www.calibre11.com/heuer-carrera-mikrograph-review/

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Ladies Kirium Quartz

VIDEO: Are TAG Heuer Watches Good? by John P

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Ladies Quartz Watch

362.508

I think it's fair to say that my wife is rather taken with her new orange and grey 'classic' Formula 1 (at least judging by the number of times I've seen it on her wrist over the past couple of weeks at any rate...) but she still doesn't have a proper, original 'resin case' model. Over the weekend she started looking on eBay again and came across a number of models including this very cool 362.508 from a seller in Japan. 

Incidentally, this first picture (above) isn't from the eBay listing, it's from a different website and I'll come back to that later. It's just that I always try and find a 'head-on' shot for the top of my blog posts and the eBay listing didn't really have one.

This picture shows of the colours of the watch much better, and while the green of the resin strap doesn't exactly match the tone on the bezel, I think it's close enough that it doesn't look jarring. I actually really like this color combination even though it's a bit of an odd one; usually TAG Heuer tended to choose contrasting colours rather than (colour wheel) adjacent ones for their first generation Formula 1 series watches. The TAG Heuer logo, white hands and hour markers really stand out against the blue dial, as do the minute markings on the green resin bezel.

As ever my wife wanted me to look at the listing for her as I tend to spot things that she doesn't, and while on the face of it this watch looks in pretty good condition, after a few minutes of looking really closely I unfortunately spotted a little problem. In one of the pictures I noticed a small mark on the glass and went through the other pictures to see if it was apparent whether it was a scratch or possibly dust, and then finally when I came to the picture below I realised that the glass is actually chipped.

I feel like this is a bit sneaky, since it really looks like they've taken a picture to show this flaw, but they haven't mentioned it in the description. So it looks like they know there's an issue there but they don't want to draw your attention to it, but because they've shown it they've covered their ass if you then complain about it as they can 'honestly' say the chip was clearly apparent in the listing photos...

It's a real shame as the price was good (Japan seems to be the place to go for many early TAG Heuer models, with great prices offered - as long as you take into account the carriage and potential customs charges of course) and otherwise the watch looks pretty decent. The listing price was for £145, plus £22 carriage to the UK. I think it would also be liable for another £30 of customs duty, but it would still come in under £200, which is pretty reasonable when you see the prices UK sellers sometimes charge for unusual colour schemes like this one.

Naturally my wife was a bit disappointed, so I had a bit of a search but the only alternative I could find was an old listing on 'The Luxury Closet' website (a company based in a hotel in Dubai, believe it or not) and that was showing as 'Sold Out'. A bit of a difference in the price though, they had it 'On Sale' at £425 down from (cough) £964! What did this watch cost in the late 80s, about £130? If that...

And so the purchase came to a crashing halt, but I shall keep looking out for her for cool resin-cased Formula 1's, she's definitely got the bug for these fun little watches!

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Link Searacer Regatta Quartz Chronograph

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera & Breguet Skeleton Watches by Swiss Watch Expo

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Link Lady Rose Gold 'Sundial' Dial Quartz Watch

WBC131F.BA0649

If ever there was a product line that defines flying totally under the radar, then the latest incarnation of the TAG Heuer Link is surely it. So 'discreet' is the range in fact that for quite a while now I've been expecting it to be discontinued / revamped, but a while back we had a brown/grey dial (the TAG Heuer website describes it as on-trend 'taupe') and now we have this new version with a kind of 'sundial' dial.

Now clearly I am not the target audience so everything I say about it should be tempered by my wife's immediate reaction which was simply 'Wow, I like that!' Excellent, just as well it only has twelve diamonds on it then. Oh, but wait....

WBC131G.BA0649

...of course, there is also a blingier version with a forty-eight diamond bezel!

I must admit I share my wife's enthusiasm for this one, the unusual dial is a real attention grabber,  I honestly can't think of another TAG Heuer that has a dial anything like this and I applaud the design team for giving us something new and different, perhaps you might even say a little bit... avant garde. 

Both of these are 32mm in diameter and powered by a quartz movement. The standard version has twelve diamonds (weighing 0.16 carat) and costs £2150, while the diamond bezel version features a total of 60 diamonds (weighing 0.84 carat in all) and will set you back a not inconsiderable £3795.

Is that bezel £1635 better? I think perhaps it is...

You certainly pay a premium for a Link over say, an Aquaracer, but the bracelet alone puts it into a different league. Not that there's anything wrong with the Aquaracer bracelet, but it doesn't have the impact or the 'Wow' factor of the Link. I only have one Link myself (my Searacer Regatta Chronograph) and that's an older variant of the Link design, but it really is quite a statement piece and it's extremely comfortable into the bargain.

Overall I'd say this one is a bit of a winner, and the rose gold hands really imbue it with a sense of occasion. I'm not quite sure though why watch companies insist on putting date wheels on women's watches. They seem to go out of their way to make them as small as possible, to the point where my wife can barely read any of hers... and it's a shame, given the stylish and symmetrical nature of this piece that they gave it a black on white date wheel, especially as it's right next to that diamond hour marker. Still, I guess if it was gold on black it would have been even harder to read than it probably is anyway.

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Aquaracer 500M Quartz Watch

VIDEO: Heuer Lover Does Not Like TAG: Collection Review by Paul Pluta

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Heuer 02 'Fragment Design' Limited Edition Chronograph

CAZ201A.BA0641

Towards the end of last year, a little bird told me that TAG Heuer were planning to release a Formula 1 fitted with a Heuer 02 automatic movement and that the price would be in the region of (a rather eye watering) £5000. The source was eminently credible, but I must admit I had my doubts about it... and as the months rolled by with no information forthcoming, I started to wonder if perhaps it had been a misunderstanding somewhere along the line or if maybe the company had changed their mind about the idea.

After all, it's a bit of a hard concept to swallow and really who would be willing to stump up 'Monaco' money for a Formula 1, Heuer 02 movement or not? I mean, it's all very well putting an 'in-house' movement in an 'entry level' case, but what about the finishing, the bracelet and what about the pressed steel clasp? No one was going to stand for that on a £5000 watch, surely?

And then a few weeks ago I saw a photo of this new 'Fragment Design' Formula 1 and realised that my source had been correct all along, they really had put a Heuer 02 movement in a Formula 1 case and it really was £5000 (actually my source was 1% out, the actual price is £5050, but we'll let them off with that as it's probably gone up in the meantime).

This then is the second 'Fragment Design' TAG Heuer collaboration, coming on the heels of last year's very popular 39mm Carrera, a watch I did try on at the Sheffield TAG Heuer boutique, but decided not to review as I really didn't have any strong feelings about it one way or the other. It was a more 'vintage' inspired piece and not really to my tastes, and really it's very hard to review a watch you don't really care about (it's very unusual for me not to write about a watch I've tried on and I did try, but really I had enough of trying to 'force' out reviews of mediocre albums when I wrote for a Metal fanzine years ago, it's no fun for anyone - least of all the reader, I'm sure!)

Personally I'd definitely take this one over that one, although it's a curious beast to say the least. Where the Carrera was 39mm and felt tiny on the wrist, here they've opted for a 44mm case which means this is going to wear big and that empty dial is going to look stark. I'm not too sure about the idea of doing away with numbers and batons completely, we saw that to some extent on the 'Hour Glass' Monaco last year, but this one takes the concept of minimalism even further and while it's striking it also looks rather bare.

They have put some small red squares around the dial to mark the positions of the hours, which I think was a good move... and thankfully the ceramic bezel does have a 'Tachymetre' etched into it, which at least gives us something to look at. And you know, the more that I look at it, and the more that I get used to the hours not being marked out the way you'd expect, the more I actually think I like it.

When I first saw this watch, my first reaction was that it had 'Monaco' hands... I'm sure some of you probably had the same thought. However, it seems that I was 'close but no cigar' there as the general consensus is that these hands are actually taken from a vintage Autavia. Either way, those hands are so particular in their appearance that to my mind they almost look a little bit out of place here - they simply look too much like they've been transplanted from a different watch. I guess over time though it would become 'normal', but that was certainly my first impression, and that is after all what this post is all about.

Something I don't like is the fact that they've done away with the running seconds counter (which should appear at the '6' position). I find it disconcerting when you can't immediately see if a watch is running (particularly an automatic, at least with my Link Searacer you can assume the battery is still working if you've changed it in the last couple of years...) and I thought TAG Heuer did a lovely job with the Monaco Heuer 02, having a running seconds hand but doing without a subdial to keep the dial clean and more in-keeping with what people expect from a Monaco.

We do still get a date wheel (which would have appeared within the running seconds subdial had it been there) and they have thankfully matched it to the dial colour, a white background there would have been a big mistake I think, given the minimal, monotone design concept.

Around the back we find a red sapphire display back, emblazoned with the 'Fragment' lightning bolt design (also found at the top of the dial). I guess this is quite cool and I wonder how long it will be before someone thinks of putting a red crystal on the front of a watch - just like those funky 'push to read' digital watches from the 70s.

They have addressed my concerns about the 'Formula 1' bracelet and clasp by producing a brand new bracelet with a butterfly clasp. This one seems to be a half-way house between a 'Jubilee' style bracelet and the 'Beads of Rice' fitted to the original Heuer 02 Autavias. I doubt very much that this bracelet will be unique to this watch, even though it hasn't been used before, it simply wouldn't make sense from a cost perspective to design a bracelet for a watch that is limited to just 500 pieces. For now though, it can be considered 'unique' in the TAG Heuer range.

I can't quite shake the feeling though that the bracelet, dial and bezel insert belong to one watch and the case and bezel another. But am I looking at this the wrong way? Is this watch designed to appeal to TAG Heuer fans and collectors, or is it designed to appeal to fans of streetwear designer Hiroshi Fujiwara in the same way that Alec Monopoly's Formula 1's were? After all, those people may not have the same preconceptions that we do, about what a Formula 1 is and where it sits in the hierarchy of things.

The price though, is something that can't be overlooked. Yes this is a limited edition, but it seems slightly over the top. It couldn't be that much less though, since the Heuer 02 movement dictates a certain price bracket, but I would have thought perhaps mid £4000s would have made it a bit easier to swallow.

Overall though, I'd say they've done a good job of putting a fresh spin on a design that originates in the 1970s with the Autavia. It's just that it flies in the face of everything we understand about TAG Heuer price points and I think for some people that might be a problem. Still, as long as 500 people can overlook it, then it's not a problem for TAG Heuer.

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Kirium Quartz Chronograph

VIDEO: Heuer Carrera Silver 160th Anniversary Edition by Bruce Williams

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Green Dial / Green Bezel Calibre 5 Watch

WAY201S.BA0927

My mild obsession with last year's green dial / steel bezel Aquaracer has been well documented in these pages, suffice it to say that I never managed to get hold of one nor even got to see one before they had all disappeared in a puff of 'this year's novelty' smoke. I did however, get to see, hold and purchase the ladies 'diamond hour markers' version for my wife's 50th birthday and if that's anything to go by then I'm just as disappointed now as I was then.

Except... I didn't pick up on it at the time, but someone in a TAG Heuer boutique somewhere said something to me last year which may well have been a subtle hint that perhaps all was not lost... and so now we have this, the new for 2020 green dial / green bezel Aquaracer Calibre 5.

I don't know exactly when this was added to the TAG Heuer website, I just happened to find it on there today (along with a couple of new Lady Links that I wasn't expecting, more on those to follow) but I'm guessing it's a pretty recent addition as no one else seems to be talking about it. Similarly, there's not a whole lot of photographs of it out there just yet either, but this one seems to show it pretty well and it goes some way to addressing my first big question, which is of course 'does the green of the bezel match the dial'?

Regular readers will remember that this was a massive issue I had with the 2019 Calibre 16 Formula 1 I saw in London last year, and has been my major worry since I first found out about this model a few weeks ago (ahem, much as I would have loved to have gone rogue and posted about it then, I'm trying to run a respectable blog here - sorry!). Well, if this photo is anything to go by, it looks okay - although I've seen photo's of that Formula 1 that looked okay too, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to reserve final judgement until I finally get to see one close up (whenever that might be of course, is anyone's guess)... assuming they don't all get sold super quickly again of course.

My other concern is that, judging by this photograph at least, it doesn't really look like it's got quite the same 'jewel' quality as the 2019 model; it looks a little more 'sober', a little more 'mature', a little less 'in your face'. But maybe that's a good thing? My wife's green dial Aquaracer is gorgeous, but it's very green indeed - would that work with a matched bezel or would it be too much? I tend to think it might be a little over the top, so maybe a slightly more muted, darker green would be a good move.

That aside, this one looks great, the hour markers, hands and the white TAG Heuer logo really pop against the green background and the silver numbers on the bezel look fantastic as well. If I'm 100% honest though, I do kinda wish they made this as a quartz, and without the cyclops, that would have made this an almost essential purchase for me, as it is... and given the uncertain post-Covid financial future, I'm not writing it off at all, but I definitely need to see it before I commit myself.

I am slightly confused though, because I assumed from these photographs and the price (£300+ up on the 2019 model) that this had a ceramic bezel. Apparently not... at least according to the TAG Heuer website, which assures me it is aluminium. If that is the case, then I can't quite see (especially given the current climate) where that increase in list price is coming from. Does an aluminium bezel insert really justify a price hike of that size? I really wouldn't have thought so...

The 43mm WAY201S.BA0927 is available from the TAG Heuer website now:

https://www.tagheuer.com/gb/en/timepieces/collections/tag-heuer-aquaracer/43-mm-calibre-5-automatic/WAY201S.BA0927.html

GALLERY: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 Watch

VIDEO: Heuer Incabloc 1614 Chrongraph by Christie's Watches

OWNED: TAG Heuer S/EL Quartz WG111C Watch

WG111C

It took me a while to get hold of this one, I'd seen one on eBay a long time ago but I absolutely was not prepared to spend £800 for a three handed S/EL just because it had a red dial. Okay, it's a lot harder to find than the black dial but still, that's still at least £300 over the top.

So I waited and watched and then my wife managed to get hold of her red dial S/EL at an extremely good price and once I'd seen that I knew I really wanted one. And so the search began again and then one day last November I got lucky too.

This watch was on eBay with a starting bid of £350 and since I was the only person to place a bid that's exactly what I paid for it.

I love the styling of the S/EL (which is just as well since I have three of them in total) but the red dial really makes this one stand out from the crowd - I guess it catches my eye when I'm choosing a watch to wear too as since it arrived it's quietly become one of my most worn watches, something that slightly surprised me when I did my post about wrist time at the end of March.

The watch is in pretty good condition for it's age, although there is a slight patination to the lume and hands, which is a shame as my wife's red S/EL is pretty much perfect in that regard. Both watches have some light scratches to the highly polished bezel though, something which is pretty much impossible to avoid unless you really baby your watch.

With its bold red dial I'm sure the WG111C isn't going to be one that has 'universal' appeal; even now sometimes I still look at it and wonder if it doesn't look slightly odd, something I've never felt about a black or blue dial watch, or even my yellow dial Aquaracer Calibre S come to that. But then, when you have a large number of watches it's good to have some that stand out since you don't really want a watch box full of black dial stainless steel pieces, do you? I think part of that is because the red of the TAG Heuer logo doesn't mesh well (or perhaps it meshes too well) with the red of the dial.

As ever the S/EL bracelet is super comfortable and fortunately when the watch arrived it fitted my wrist perfectly. I say fortunately because my wife's S/EL had to be sent away to be altered - even though it came with the instruction booklet which made it all sound so easy! It proved not to be the case at all...

In the wrist-shot above it looks quite substantial, but this picture is very misleading. It's quite slender and it measures just 37/38mm so it's definitely on the smaller side for a modern watch (current Aquaracers are 41 or 43mm in diameter for comparison). I've found that I can wear anything from a 35mm to a 45mm though, you just get used to these things and the truth is you have to if you want to wear watches from the 1980s and 90s. I believe there might be a 40mm case S/EL chronograph, but I've never actually seen one close up so I can't be 100% sure about that, it could just be eBay sellers including the crown in the measurements (always something to be wary of!).

While the dial is quite simple, there is one small detail you might not have noticed which elevates it somewhat. The dial is actual on two levels, with the central section lower than the outer section where the hour batons sit. To separate the two parts of the dial TAG Heuer have added a very delicate silver line that you only really notice when it catches the light. I'm not sure whether this is an applied metal ring or whether it's 'painted' on to the dial, but it's a nice touch and adds a touch of class to an otherwise 'sporty' dial. Which is just what it was designed to do I'm sure, after all 'S/EL' stands for 'sport elegance'. 

A few days ago the watch started to indicate that its battery needed changing (jumping four seconds at a time) and so I procured a Renata 371 from eBay and took the back off to make the switch. I was pleased to see the movement looked in good condition with no obvious signs of water incursion and also it was nice to see 'TAG Heuer' printed prominently on the movement too.

There's not much to go wrong with this watch as its only complication is a date function; that works perfectly and the crown screws down nicely, so the only minor niggle is the ageing of the lume. Maybe one day I'll send it back to TAG Heuer for an overhaul and a re-lume, after all it's probably due a service by now even though it keeps excellent time.

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 3000 Series Quartz Watch

Technically speaking, this is a 'vintage' watch, even though it was made in the late 1980s. It strikes me as somewhat odd that it has that label and that apparently there is no distinction between a watch from that era and say the 1940s. Once something becomes 100 years old it becomes 'antique' but everything between 20 and 100 years old is simply termed 'vintage'... I'm not sure I like that the era of my teens is now considered 'vintage', or 'olden times' as my 12 year old niece put it last night!

In an unrelated matter, my mother in law told me she saw an episode of 'Flog It' last week which featured a 'Heuer' watch, though she didn't know what it was. I've scoured the internet to try and find it for you guys, but I've come up blank. Does anyone have a link to it by any chance?

EDIT: Turns out it was actually a repeat of Antiques Roadshow, here's a link to the episode:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0c074zr/antiques-roadshow-series-41-5-erddig-1

UPDATE: TAG Heuer (Goldsmiths) Boutique at Meadowhall Re-Opening on Monday

I've been contacted by the Meadowhall, Sheffield TAG Heuer (Goldsmiths) Boutique to say that they are opening as from Monday, with all the usual social distancing regulations in place. As with Bicester Village you will need an appointment to visit the store, so if you are interested to get hands on with all the latest watches please contact Maxine to arrange one.

Email: tag.meadowhall.goldsmiths.co.uk

Phone: 0114 256 9346

If you haven't been to this store, I can personally recommend it, the staff are very friendly and welcoming in my experience. 

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 6000 Series Quartz Chronograph

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 6 Unboxing and review by MHwatchouttathebox

FEATURE: TAG Heuer Has A New CEO (Again!)

It doesn't seem like five minutes since Stephen Bianchi took over the reigns of TAG Heuer from (watch industry legend) Jean Claude Biver, indeed it was only back in September 2018... but things at the top are changing again, as from the 1st of July, with the appointment of Frederic Arnault.

Frederic is the son of Bernand Arnault, the third richest man in the world according to the 'Forbes' list. He is the CEO of LVMH, which owns 75 luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, Zenith, Hublot, Bulgari, Fendi, Chaumet, Guerlain, Dior, Givenchy, Fenty and many many more...

Frederic has been heavily involved with the TAG Heuer Connected project in recent years, which of course has been a huge success and has also brought many younger people on board. Although I personally take issue with the idea of TAG Heuer being a brand for 'young people' (being 50 years old myself, I guess I'm 'supposed' to have graduated to something 'grown-up' like an IWC by now... no thank you) it is a fact that not unlike Formula 1, luxury watchmaking needs to attract a younger clientele or risk dying out with it's customers.

At 25 years old, Frederic is ideally placed to understand the younger market and it will be interesting to see where he envisions the brand going in the future; although I can't say I envy him the challenge that is satisfying two very distinct customer bases who want very different things from the same brand (or rather two brands; 'TAG Heuer' & 'Heuer').

Outgoing CEO Stephen Bianchi is taking up a different role in the LVMH group, overseeing the watchmaking and jewellery division (with the exception of Bulgari, not quite sure why that is). According to the LVMH website, the jewellery and watches division brought in a staggering 4,4 billion Euros last year so that's a big responsibility, actually the LVMH website is worth a quick browse as it's hard to appreciate just how enormous the LVMH group really is.

Bernard himself is apparently worth anywhere between $90 and $110 billion, depending on which source you consult, but he obviously had a bad day yesterday - according to the Forbes website he lost $6.3 billion from close of business yesterday... mind you a month ago they said his wealth had increased by $12.3 billion since March so I'm guessing these figures are a little bit 'open to interpretation'...

So, Frederic becomes the fourth TAG Heuer CEO in the last twenty years; Jean Christophe Babin took over the helm at the end of 2000 and stayed for fourteen years until he moved to take over at Bulgari, whereupon the aforementioned Mr Biver arrived to revitalise the company, launching among other things the Connected smartwatch and the Carrera Heuer 01 before departing in 2018 and taking on an oversight role still within the LVMH group.

Mr Bianchi's rather short tenure was perhaps less notable, although he did oversee the 50th anniversary of the Monaco along with the launches of the Nanograph Carrera and the Isograph Autavia (which was not without it's problems, being withdrawn almost as soon as it was launched due to issues with the integration of the revolutionary new hairspring into the Calibre 5 movement). Despite this, given his new role the board obviously still have faith in his abilities.

Frederic is one of five children (two of which are half siblings), four of whom work in LMVH companies. I am hopeful that given his history of working with the Connected line, he will be more inclined to push TAG Heuer back towards a more avant garde and radical design philosophy, but I guess we shall have to wait and see...

GALLERY: TAG Heuer 1500 GMT Quartz Watch